Introduction

The sweetly scented Grewia robusta has beautiful, bright pink flowers. It is a frost-resistant, hardy shrub or small tree that is adaptable to all soils, from clay to sand. It makes a good screen for your bird garden.

Description

Description

Grewia robusta is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, up to 3 m high. Its bark is often spiny, and grey. Older stems are roundish. The leaves are often clustered on abbreviated side-shoots, broadly elliptic to ovate or almost round, 13-25 x 10-20 mm. They are 3-veined from the base, leathery, shiny dark green above, rather paler greyish green below, with short hairs; apex broadly tapering; base rounded, sometimes lobed, almost symmetric; margins have been described as bluntly toothed to scalloped or almost entire, glossy dark green above, pale greyish green and with short hairs below. The petiole (leaf stalk) is very short.

The flowers are small, bright pink and sweetly scented They are solitary, up to 25 mm in diameter, leaf-opposed, with stamens in a central mass. The flowering time is August-December. The fruits are round and fleshy drupes (fruits such as plums), reddish brown and entire to deeply 2- to 4-lobed, up to 20 mm in diameter.

Conservation Status

Status

According to Raimondo et al. (2009), Grewia robusta was of Least Concern (LC) when it was evaluated against the five IUCN criteria, as it does not qualify for the categories Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution description

Grewia robusta is restricted to the arid areas of the Karoo and the arid parts of Eastern Cape. It generally favours dry scrub, often on stony hill slopes and in valley bushveld.

Derivation of name and historical aspects

History

The genus Grewia was named after Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712), an English physician. The specific name robusta is said to refer to the ability of the species to survive hard environmental conditions.

Ecology

Ecology

Uses

Use

This Grewia is a valuable fodder plant. The leaves are heavily browsed by game and livestock. The fruit is eaten either raw or cooked and has a pleasant acid taste.

Growing Grewia robusta

Grow

Grewia robusta can be cultivated easily. These trees grow best in moist clay or light sand and medium loam soils, in semi-shade and open areas. Best results are achieved by feeding the plant with organic fertiliser before flowering. Grewia robusta is frost- and drought-tolerant. It produces masses of sweetly scented and attractive pink flowers in summer. This grewia is an excellent focal garden plant.